


(you and I have memories) longer than the road that stretches out ahead

by strideofpride



Category: Hart of Dixie
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Post-Series, Pre-Series, Season 3, a lot of AB referring to him as "George Tucker" because I love that, lots of Lemon/Lemon mentions in this esp the first half, the ending is just tooth rooting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27872193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strideofpride/pseuds/strideofpride
Summary: “I’ve decided it’s high time you got to know George,” Lemon stated matter-of-factly.“Lemon, I’ve known him my entire life,” Annabeth sighed.Or, George & AB through the years.
Relationships: AnnaBeth Nass & George Tucker, George Tucker/AnnaBeth Nass, past AnnaBeth Nass/Jake Nass, past George Tucker/Lemon Breeland, past George Tucker/Linley Hayes, past Lavon Hayes/AnnaBeth Nass
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	(you and I have memories) longer than the road that stretches out ahead

**Author's Note:**

> If you build it, they will come right? George & AB are my favorite HoD couple and the lack of content for them has always made me sad, so I figured might as well make some myself then! This is actually my first fanfic ever, so please be kind!

**_Age 15_ **

“I’ve decided it’s high time you got to know George,” Lemon stated matter-of-factly, taking her usual seat at the head of the lunch table.

“Lemon, I’ve known him my entire life,” Annabeth sighed, taking out the turkey sandwich her mother insisted on packing for her every day.

By now, Annabeth was sure she knew everything there was to possibly know about George Tucker. That he was a Straight A student in everything except history, which Annabeth only knew about since Mr. Bailey made the class sit alphabetically, so she saw all of his B minuses. That despite being from opposite sides of the tracks, he was currently inseparable with one Wade Kinsella ever since they both made varsity football as freshmen. That while he was the current Golden Boy of CLJ Jones High, he was permanently stuck in Harry Tucker’s shadow, at least in the eyes of his father.

So no, by this point there wasn’t much deeper you could go with George Tucker and Annabeth told Lemon just that.

“Yes, okay, fine, you know George. But you don’t know him as my boyfriend yet and that’s just as important, AB!”

“He’s been your boyfriend for three days,” Annabeth couldn’t help but point out.

“Three marvelous and wonderful days,” Lemon said, a dreamy look in her eyes. Annabeth wished Crickett shared a lunch period with them, so she at least had someone to roll her eyes with when Lemon got in one of her moods. “Come on, you’re my best friend, you should be friends with my boyfriend too!”

“George and I have nothing in common.”

“That’s not true, you both uh…” Lemon trailed off and Annabeth couldn’t help but feel a little smug. “You both uh…you’re both fans of Auburn football for some ungodly reason,” Lemon finished with the wave of a hand.

“Being legacies of the same college? Yeah, I don’t think that’s quite enough to form the foundation of a lifelong bond.”

Lemon rolled her eyes. “Alright fine. How about the fact that you both love me? And you both just want me to be happy, which I will never be if my boyfriend and my bestest, dearest friend in the whole wide world refuse to get along…”

“Okay, okay. I’ll hang out with George for you. _Once_.”

“Oh, AB, thank you!” Lemon said, throwing her arms around Annabeth in a joyous hug.

“Just once, Lemon, I mean it!”

“Yes, yes, I promise.”

…

Of course, Lemon being Lemon, just once quickly turned into a constant series of schemes to get them to bond. There was the fly-fishing trip, the endless quest for firewood, performing a one-act play together for Lemon’s theater class, but this time…well this time really took the cake.

Lemon had locked them in the janitor’s closet. “Accidentally” she claimed, but Annabeth knew better despite Lemon’s repeated insistence that she was tracking down a key. But she didn’t want to make a big deal about it in front of George, they were still such a new couple and as annoyed with Lemon as she was, she didn’t want to ruin her relationship with him.

“I’m sure Lemon will find a key any minute,” Annabeth lied through her teeth.

George snorted, which was definitely not a reaction Annabeth was expecting from him. Worry or panic, sure, but not this. “Please, Annabeth, we both know she did this on purpose. She wants us to become friends or whatever.”

Huh. So maybe George already knew Lemon better than Annabeth thought. “And you’re not mad at her for locking us in here on purpose?”

“I’m annoyed, sure. But it’s Lemon Breeland. I knew what I was getting into when I asked her out.” Annabeth’s not so sure about that, but it was very brave of George to at least try. Good. Time for someone else to take a turn on the rollercoaster that was being Lemon Breeland’s right hand man (well, woman in Annabeth’s case). 

Still, Annabeth did feel the need to set the record straight on one thing. “You know, Lemon isn’t as tough as she seems.” George made a face as if to say “yeah, right”.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, she can be absolutely terrifying, it’s Lemon, but she’s also more sensitive than she lets on. Just don’t break her heart. Or Crickett and I and the rest of the cheerleading team will stuff glitter into every possible crevice of your locker. Oh, and your gym locker too!” Annabeth finished.

George looked amused. “What, you think we won’t?” Annabeth asked.

“Oh, I’m sure you will. It’s just nice that you care about her so much.”

“She’s my best friend,” Annabeth replied, not understanding George’s point.

“And I’m her boyfriend. So, when she asks us to do the bare minimum in order to make her happy, we should probably just do it,” George said pointedly. Annabeth must’ve made a face without realizing, since George quickly added, “Look, I’m not saying we have to be friends or anything. But we should at least try to get along.”

“You’re right, George.” Annabeth admitted. “But let’s not start making Lemon happy until tomorrow.”

“Absolutely. She did lock us in the janitor’s closet after all.”

Annabeth smiled. It wouldn’t be _that_ hard to get along with stuffy George Tucker. Besides, how long were he and Lemon really going to be together anyway?

**_Age 19_ **

Desperate for some peace and quiet, George set up camp in the corner of the library and resolved not to leave until it was time for his Econ 101 final the next day. He was very grateful that his brother got him into the Kappa Sig house as a freshman, he was, but how was he expected to get any studying done when there was a beer pong tournament going on in the middle of the day?

Harry didn’t seem bothered by it though. Of course. Harry probably never studied for any of his finals. Just showed up and got perfect marks anyway. That was probably how he got a 170 on his LSAT and was off to law school in the fall, since George certainly never saw him crack a book once in the past four years.

“Totally unfair,” George muttered out loud to himself.

“George Tucker talking to himself. I should alert the Bluebell town friar immediately, let them know their Golden Boy has gone crazy.”

 _Annabeth Thibodaux_. George knew she went to Auburn too, of course. Lemon never let him forget it. But knowing Annabeth Thibodaux was somewhere on campus was very different than actually seeing her sitting at the table behind him with her textbooks and a box of crullers.

“Annabeth! Um, hi,” George waved awkwardly. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“Reckon it’s the same as you. Studying for my finals. Only I’m studying for my Art History final,” Annabeth said, waving her textbook in the air. “You?”

“Econ 101.”

“Sounds boring.”

“It is.”

They stared at each other for a beat, before Annabeth finally said “So, I hear you and Lemon are spending the summer in Mexico?”

“Just for a few weeks, yeah. Are, uh, you doing anything fun?”

“Nothing like Mexico, no. But Jake and I are going to go up to the lake for a few days I think.”

Right, Jake Nass was Annabeth’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, George remembered. They must be on-again. “Well, uh, sounds nice.”

“Yeah.”

“I should probably get back to my studying though.”

“Oh yeah, sure. Me too,” Annabeth smiled, although George couldn’t help but notice it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Maybe I’ll see you around campus next year. You’re always welcome to come to Kappa Sig parties, if you want,” George found himself saying.

“Yeah. Maybe. I was actually considering pledging Delta Sig next year. Lemon’s probably going to give me a whole lecture about immersing myself too deeply in Auburn’s social scene but-”

“No, I don’t think so. I think Lemon would want you to. And even if she doesn’t, who cares? Lemon’s not the boss of you.”

“I have about 15 years’ worth of evidence to the contrary.”

George couldn’t help himself, letting out a loud laugh that drew the glares of half the room and an especially aggressive shush from the librarian herself.

Annabeth smirked. “I better let you get back to Econ 101. I don’t want to get you into any more trouble. Good luck on your finals, George Tucker. And have a nice summer.”

“You too, Annabeth Thibodaux. You too.”

**_Age 26_ **

It was the most uncomfortable meal of Annabeth’s life.

When Lemon initially suggested a double date now that Annabeth and Jake were back from their honeymoon, Annabeth thought nothing of it. But she should have. Of course Lemon would have an ulterior motive, and that motive seemed to be to get George Tucker down the aisle as soon as possible. Annabeth was not in the habit of feeling bad for the Golden Boy, but boy, she really pitied him tonight.

“So, tell me, AB, Jake, was all that wedding planning really worth it? I bet it was, wasn’t it? I bet it brought you two closer than ever, didn’t it?” Lemon was saying.

Annabeth shared an awkward glance with Jake. Poor George Tucker looked as if he wanted his chair to swallow him whole right there in the middle of Fancie’s.

“It was actually pretty stressful,” Jake finally replied between mouthfuls of steak.

Lemon didn’t let that deter her. “Oh, but I’m sure once it was all done, you had a great time at your wedding! I know we sure did,” Lemon said with a sharp elbow to George’s side. “And the honeymoon! I’ve heard Key West is just beautiful this time of year. You must’ve had the best trip ever. And found the perfect release for all that stress!” Lemon winked at that, causing Annabeth to blush. It wasn’t like Lemon to be so forward about sex. She was really laying it on thick.

“Lemon, really,” George chided.

“What, I can’t show interest in my friends? Are you the friend police now, huh?”

“Okay enough! I know what you’re doing Lemon. You know I want to marry you. But now is just not the right time…”

“Can we please get out of here?” Jake whispered in Annabeth’s ear.

Annabeth wanted nothing more than to leave too, but she knew the second they stood up from the table Lemon would throw a tantrum that rivaled the night Stanley and Crickett won the Belles’ first couples’ game night. There hadn’t been a second.

“Well, you’re finished with law school, so if now isn’t the right time, then when George? When I’ve hit my expiration date and we can’t have children anymore? Is that going to be the right time?”

“Lemon, please, we’re twenty-six. We have plenty of time.”

“You don’t know that for sure, daddy says that fertility problems increase tenfold in your thirties.”

George sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I didn’t want to do this here but…I’m up for a big job in New York. And if I get it, well…I think I’m gonna take it.”

Jake shot Annabeth a panicked look.

“I’m sorry, is there a New York here in Alabama that I don’t know about?”

“No, Lemon. New York City.”

Annabeth put her hand on Jake’s arm. “You know, it’s getting kind of late. We should really be heading out now.” And without waiting for a response, Annabeth and Jake got up and fast-walked out of the room as fast as they possibly could.

…

Later, Annabeth settled herself into bed, rubbing lotion on her hands. “Kinda crazy about George Tucker, huh?” she called into the bathroom.

“What are you talking about?” Jake called back.

“George, New York City, hello?”

“Oh right, yeah,” Jake replied, walking out of the bathroom and climbing under the covers. “I don’t know why he’d ever consider leaving Bluebell.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s a great job opportunity for him. And New York. Wow. What an adventure that would be, don’t you think?” Annabeth sighed wistfully.

“Nah, New York is overrated. And crowded. And disgusting. Besides, why would anyone want to leave Bluebell anyway? We got a perfectly good TV right here that could take us anywhere in the world.” Annabeth frowned but Jake didn’t notice, kissing the side of her head and settling himself into bed. “Goodnight hon”.

Annabeth turned off her lamp and settled down next to him, but her mind was still going. Lemon’s feelings on New York were similar to Jake’s, namely that she hated it. There was no way she’d ever agree to move there. But George seemed pretty sure about taking the job…

Well, on the bright side, at least there wouldn’t be any more uncomfortable double dates for a while…

**_Age 31_ **

It was the most uncomfortable meal of George’s life.

He had no one to blame but himself either. Serves him right for getting involved with Lavon’s cousin before he was really over Tansy. Now that she was back in town and working at the Rammer Jammer, George had no choice but to avoid her and insist to Linley that they had to eat breakfast with Lavon and Annabeth that morning instead.

Sure, okay, things with Lavon had been a little rocky ever since he found out about him and Linley. And while he and Annabeth had never been close, he knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t exactly Linley’s number one fan. But he figured those were tiny obstacles that they could put aside for a single breakfast. No big deal.

What George hadn’t realized until this morning was just how tense things were between Lavon and Annabeth themselves. He knew about the ultimatum incident, of course, but he figured they had both moved past that and were stronger than ever. Wrong.

Outwardly, the two acted as if nothing was the matter between them, but George could see the signs. Lavon was emotionally distant and clearly keeping her at arm’s length. And Annabeth was doing the same high-pitched endless chatter and binge-eating he had witnessed from her in the later years with Jake.

It was kind of sad, George thought to himself. He had been surprised when they had first started dating, since he unfortunately knew very well about Lavon and Lemon’s affair, and weren’t best friends supposed to be totally off-limits anyway? But perhaps because of the heartbreak Lemon and Jake had caused them, Lavon and Annabeth worked well together. They had seemed happy, at least until recently…

“Hey GT, can you pass the butter?” Lavon asked, interrupting George’s train of thought.

“What? Oh yeah, sure,” George replied, and went ahead and did so.

“Oh, so here’s a fun fact about butter…” Annabeth started.

Oh boy. It was going to be a _long_ breakfast.

…

After what felt like years of his life, George was finally back in the carriage house alone with Linley. “So, that was kinda weird, huh?” he called out to her, while she was fixing herself up in front of the bathroom mirror.

“What are you talking about?” Linley called back, before walking out, finishing clipping in her earrings.

“Lavon and AB. They just seemed kinda off today.”

Linley shrugged. “They seemed fine to me. Hand me my coat?”

“Sure,” George said, before helping her pull it on.

“What a gentleman, thank you,” Linley smiled.

“So, uh, you didn’t find that uncomfortable at all?”

“Not more than usual. You know, sometimes I think Annabeth doesn’t like me?”

Nope. Not going there. “Well, I’m sure that’s all in your head,” George lied.

“But if you’re uncomfortable around them, let’s just go to the Rammer Jammer tomorrow instead.”

A warning sound went off in George’s head. “Um, on second thought though, Lavon always has the best breakfast pastries in town. And the Rammer Jammer’s eggs are…watery. Yeah. Let’s just eat here again tomorrow, okay?”

Linley looked confused but didn’t press. “Okay…”

“Come on, I’ll walk with you,” George began to lead her out.

Well, looks like there were several more uncomfortable breakfasts in his future…

**_Age 33_ **

“You’re here!” George exclaimed, scooping Annabeth up into a big hug. He tried to pull away, but she pulled him into a kiss so long, random travelers in the Nashville baggage claim began to applaud.

Annabeth had had an awful flight. She had traded for a middle seat so a family could sit together, but the seat wouldn’t recline, and the person on the aisle fell asleep so she couldn’t go the bathroom, and on top of that, they were all out of airplane peanuts. But it was all worth it, she realized, as she watched George blush and smile after the kiss finally ended. He was worth it.

George got Annabeth’s bags off the carousel and within minutes they were in his truck and on the road back to his apartment, Annabeth telling him about her and Lemon’s babysitting misadventure with Jack Hart-Kinsella. “Poor Zoe looked like she was going to have a heart attack when they came back and saw Jack covered in peanut butter. But Wade was still in a good mood from their time away and he got Zoe to just laugh it off. Lavon wasn’t too happy though when he came home and saw what we had done to his kitchen,” Annabeth finished.

“Well, I’m sorry I missed it,” George said, and Annabeth could tell he really meant it.

Annabeth rubbed his arm soothingly. “Don’t worry, I got lots of pictures. And you’ll be back in Bluebell next month anyway to get the in-person experience.”

George tensed and began to pull the car over to the side of the road.

“Um, George, what are you doing?”

“Look, AB, I was going to tell you about it later, but uh, since you brought it up…” Annabeth looked on, concerned. “Pamela is doing a European tour and she asked me to come with her. I’m supposed to leave in two weeks.”

“Oh. Wow.” Of all the things she had expected George Tucker to say in this moment, that certainly wasn’t one of them. “How long?”

“Three months to start, with the possibility to extend.”

“Wow,” Annabeth said, blinking back tears. “Well, that’s great though. You’re going to have a great time.”

“Actually, I was hoping that _we_ could have a great time.”

“Wait, what?”

“Look, I know you don’t want to drop everything to follow a man again. But you are finished with nursing school now. And you know that you have a set job with Brick and Zoe if you want, when we come back. And I don’t know, I was thinking about how on our first date you said you wanted to do all this travel and have adventure, and I just thought…I don’t know, I guess I thought you might really enjoy coming along. But it’s totally up to you. If you don’t want to go, I won’t either,” George finished nervously.

“You’d really give up a big European tour like that for me?”

“Of course. Annabeth, I love you. I’d do anything to keep you happy. So…what do you say?”

Annabeth smiled. “Yes, of course! You had me at ‘we could have a great time’. I just wanted to hear that speech I know you had planned out.”

“Ah, you think you know me so well, don’t you?” George said, laughter in his eyes.

“Oh, at this point I think I might know you better than you know yourself,” Annabeth smirked. “For instance, I know what you want right now is for me to do this,” she said before leaning in for a kiss.

A kiss quickly turned into a make-out session, which was foiled after five minutes when they realized his truck was not nearly as conducive to car sex as George’s rental car was.

This is it, Annabeth realized as George started up the car and pulled back onto the road. This is what it felt like to be with the love of your life. She had thought that she knew what it was like with Jake, with Lavon, even with Davis for a brief moment. But this ease she felt with George, the spark he lit within her, knowing him so deeply and thoroughly on every possible level…this was true love. Annabeth was sure of it. She was going to spend the rest of her life with George Tucker. And she couldn’t wait.

**_Age 40_ **

“Good morning,” Annabeth whispered quietly from somewhere next to George. He opened his eyes to see his wife sitting in bed next to him, rocking their infant daughter in her arms.

“Well, good morning to both my girls. How about you put Jane down for her morning nap and go back to sleep with me? Or not,” George said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I’d love too, but the boys are going to be barging in here any moment.” The words had barely even left her mouth before Will, Henry, and Simon came bursting through their bedroom door. And they weren’t empty-handed.

“Look daddy, we made pancakes!” Will exclaimed.

“Mommy helped,” Henry added.

“Ah, so that’s why they look edible,” George said with a wink towards Annabeth. Simon lifted his arms up, the universal sign for “pick me up” and George happily obliged. Their friends and family all thought they were crazy, having four kids all five and under, and sure, it wasn’t exactly part of their life plan, but they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“Now, what’s the special occasion for all of this?” George pretended to ponder.

“It’s Father’s Day, daddy!”

George pretended to smack his forehead. “Oh, that’s right. And who exactly are we going to celebrate today?”

“You daddy!” Henry giggled.

“Me? Well, aren’t I the luckiest guy in the South then! Come on up here, boys.” Will and Henry did as they were told, and within seconds the entire Tucker family were squeezed together on George and Annabeth’s bed. “Did you kids know it is six years to the day that your mommy first told me she was pregnant?” George asked as he began to dig into his pancakes. Will and Henry shook their heads “no”. Simon stared blanky, not understanding the question, and Jane simply burped. “She made me a pancake breakfast in bed just like this one. Of course, I didn’t even realize it was Father’s Day at first, I figured it must’ve been some anniversary that I had forgotten about,” George said with a shrug.

“But then I tried to set your daddy straight,” Annabeth continued on. “Told him it was a Father’s Day breakfast. But that just confused him even more. ‘Why would you make me a Father’s Day breakfast, AB? I’m not your dad.’” George and the boys all burst into laughter at Annabeth’s impression of him. “Finally, I got so frustrated I just yelled ‘I’m pregnant with your baby, you moron! You’re going to be a father!’”

“Moron’s a bad word though, mommy,” Will said seriously.

Annabeth nodded, trying to match Will’s seriousness. “Yes, you’re right. Mommy never should have said it.”

“And then what happened?” Henry asked.

“Well, your daddy went white as a sheet for a moment. Then he burst out into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen…” Annabeth trailed off and George realized the rest of the story probably wasn’t too appropriate to tell a bunch of little kids.

“And we’ve been a family ever since,” George finished instead. Annabeth shot him a warm smile. The boys just looked bored though.

“Can we go play superheroes now?” Henry asked.

“Don’t forget it’s daddy’s day today, Henry. So we’re going to do whatever daddy wants,” Annabeth reminded him. 

George simply shrugged. “No, it’s okay. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day.” And he meant it. There was nothing better than spending time with his family. For a long time, George had worried he would never be that kind of man, his own father certainly wasn’t the most loving and supportive parent. But that all changed the first time he held Will in his arms. George had lived in New York, traveled the world, even gone on tour himself way back when, but in that moment and every single one since, there was nowhere else in the world he would rather have been. And it was all thanks to _her_.

After a lifetime of wanderlust and restlessness, he was finally settled and exactly where he was meant to be: right by Annabeth’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts!


End file.
